As if the United States needs another basketball event to dominate the rest of the Olympic field, the International Olympic Committee is meeting next week to set the events for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan, and one event that is strongly being considered is a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. This 3-on-3 tournament would be an addition to the usual 5-on-5 basketball that we’ve been accustomed to watching during the Summer Olympics.
The idea of adding 3-on-3 to the Olympics is to bring a streetball-styled, half-court event to the summer games. This means that the 3-on-3 basketball will likely take place outdoors under the Tokyo sun as opposed to the air conditioned confines of an arena, where 5-on-5 will be happening.
The Associated Press’ Graham Dunbar talked with FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann about this possible addition of 3-on-3 basketball to the Olympics:
“Now there is an urban cluster that has been created,” FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann told The Associated Press. “The best urban team sport is 3-on-3 street basketball. It would certainly be a perfect fit.”
Baumann singled out the famed Rucker Park street court in Harlem, New York, when expressing hope “to see them in the Olympic Games two years down the road.”
Adjusting from the NBA game would also be tough, he said: “It’s a different skill set. It’s really a 10-minute sprint, no coach, so you need to take the right decisions.”
Baumann also said that he hopes that NBA players can participate in 3-on-3 basketball at the Olympics but is unsure if the league will allow it. However, if NBA players don’t participate, D-League and former college stars will likely form a USA team.
And while the whole idea of 3-on-3 sounds a bit gimmicky, FIBA has had held a successful 3-on-3 World Cup-style competition involving a slew of different countries for the last few years. So the Olympic version of 3-on-3 basketball will likely just be very similar to FIBA’s version.
Overall, though, 3-on-3 basketball at the very least adds another basketball-based event to the Olympics, and having more hoops in our lives is never a bad thing.
